The International Monetary Fund said its board had completed the first review under Angola’s extended arrangement and approved a disbursement of $248.15 million, taking the total of such payments to about $1.24 billion.
“The Angolan authorities have demonstrated strong commitment to policies under the Fund-supported program,” the IMF’s first deputy managing director and acting chair, David Lipton, said in a statement.”However, a weakened external environment, notably the heightened volatility in the international price of crude oil, is posing challenges to their reform efforts.”
Angola is Africa’s leading exporter of petroleum products second to Nigeria. The country is projected to emerge from recession with real GDP growth of 1.2% in 2019 and 3.2% in 2020. The recovery will be driven mainly by the production and export of diamonds (growing by 8.2%), agriculture (5%), and construction (2.1%)
